Bob Dylan once sang ‘these times they are a changing’ and he may (or possibly may not) have been talking about the reported rapid increase in the number of men drinking rosé wines (read full story here) – or “Brosé” wines as they are now being called! So if you are comfortable ordering a glass of something pink and chilled, or are still one well-groomed beard away from it, now seems a good time to look more closely at this fascinating but often misunderstood wine style.

Long popular in the warmer regions of Spain and Southern France, rosé wines are made using red grapes but with winemaking techniques similar to white wines. So the red colour from the grape skins is used to give the wines their soft pink colours but without the grippy, chewy tannins of a full bodied red wine. Colours range from vibrant purple through to delicate salmon pink – this great graphic (courtesy of www.gentlemansgazette.com) gives a useful guide to the different shades of rosé if you are looking for inspiration!

The wines can be made from a range of different grape varieties, all giving slightly different characters to the final wine. In Australia, Shiraz and Grenache are the two most common red grape varieties used for rosé although Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon are among some of the other varieties also used. New Zealand tends to produce more Pinot Noir rosé wines which can be spectacularly elegant and fine. It’s worth mentioning here that in both Australia and New Zealand there are no restrictions on the grape varieties that can be used to make rosé, but if the grape variety is ‘declared’ on the bottle, then the normal labeling laws apply.

It is possible to make rosé as a by-product of full bodied red wines – a small portion of the red fermenting grape juice is drained away and kept separately to finish its life as a rosé. This process is called ‘saignee’ and can be very useful in terms of concentrating the flavours of the remaining red wine as well as making a rosé wine, but in warmer grape growing regions like much of Australia the best rosé wines are made from red grapes picked specifically for rosé. The grapes will be picked a couple of weeks earlier than for a full bodied red wine to help preserve the natural crispness and acidity in the grapes, and this really shows in a more refined style of wine.

In terms of style, rosé wines can range right across the sweetness spectrum from crisp and dry through to rich and sweet – and it’s not always clear from the label where any given wine sits in terms of this, so it’s always a good idea to check with your local wine store staff.

At Merchants we have a range of rosé wines and in terms of food and wine matching they can be very versatile.The crisper drier styles like the Blue Pyrenees Estate Rosé or the Helen & Joey Estate Inara Rosé are delicate enough to accompany dishes with subtle flavours like seafood or lighter pasta dishes, and the off-dry styles like the Robert Stein Rosé from the Mudgee region of Australia can provide a great counterpoint to dishes with a little chilli heat.

One thing we are always thankful for is that here in Singapore every day is a perfect day for rosé – one of the benefits of an equatorial climate. So sit back and relax with a chilled glass of rosé – whether you’re a hipster or not, drinking rose is now officially ok for the guys!

Merchants is a collective of small, independent and artisanal winemakers from Australia and New Zealand. Our vision is to create authentic wine experiences for our passionate wine community, and ensure a future for our small winemakers.

Recently I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Glen and Judy Kelly, the driving force behind one of the Adelaide Hills newest wine labels – Artwine. Sitting in their beautiful cellar door perched on a hilltop just north of South Australia’s famous Oakbank racecourse, it’s a great place to reflect on how the 2016 vintage is shaping up and to chat about their evolving range of wines. In fact sitting with their dog Coco curled up on my feet and a glass of wine in hand, its easy to see the appeal of grape growing and winemaking in this part of the world.

Artwine’s stunning cellar door in the Adelaide Hills

Although the grapes in South Australia are harvested in the autumn (February and March) each year, the conditions of the previous seasons have a significant impact on the quality and quantity of each harvest. The second half of 2015 was notably dry across South Australia, with the last three months of the year being particularly warm. Dry grown vineyards and the judicious use of irrigation in other blocks means that even in these tougher years the Artwine vines stay healthy and productive, and after a heavy burst of rain in January provided some much-needed moisture to the vines and soil, a dry warm summer provided the perfect ripening conditions for most of the varieties grown. The red wines in particular look like having intense colour and rich long tannins, so things are looking very positive for the Artwine wines from 2016.

Looking across the vineyards from the cellar door

Artwine have an amazing array of vineyard resources available to produce their wines and evolve their styles. Cleverly, they have planted a mix of ‘mainstream’ varieties such as Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as ‘emerging’ varieties including Fiano, Tempranillo and Graciano. The Fiano is a particular favourite of Glen and Judy – it’s a white variety from Northern Italy, and has been planted in relatively modest amounts across Australia’s warmer wine growing regions. It’s a tough variety – thick skinned and hardy, and holds onto it crispness even in the warmest climates.

Judy and Glen Kelly

The Artwine Fiano is labelled as ‘The Wicked Stepmother’…but that may be a story for another time! It effortlessly combines a richness and texture with a lovely refreshing crispness, highlighting the variety’s potential for making drinkable wines that should find a very broad fan base. Relatively few white wines benefit from extended aging (Riesling and Semillon would be the main options in Australia), but recent tastings of some of the earlier vintages of Glen and Judy’s Fiano have been a revelation. The wines are developing gracefully with lovely secondary honeyed notes developing over the aromatic fruits of the younger wines. It’s a work in progress, but a fascinating and enjoyable project to be involved in!

Glen And Judy are visiting Singapore in April and will be hosting tastings at our Duxton, Joo Chiat and Pasarbella locations as below:

“Vintage” is a word we use commonly, but do you know what the word actually means for wine? Vintage refers to the harvest period when the grapes are ripe and can be picked – typically this happens in September and October in the northern hemisphere (France, Spain etc), and February and March in the southern hemisphere (Australia, Argentina etc). As we head into the Australian and New Zealand vintage period (a frantic time for winemakers!) we’ll bring you updates from around those regions – it’s a great way to get a feel for how the wines of different years will start their life. As a rule, white grapes (for white wine) are picked first, which locks in those lovely fresh, crisp flavours. A few weeks later and it will be the turn of the red grapes (for red wine) to be picked. This gives the red grapes longer in the warm summer and autumn days to ripen fully and develop rich and generous characters that are so important in the finished wine. The time of harvest also varies from one region to another across the country – generally the hottest regions will be picked first, as the grapes ripen more quickly, while the cooler regions will take a few weeks more to get to the perfect ripeness.

Once the wine has been made from the grapes picked during that vintage/harvest, the wine can be labelled with the year – so for grapes picked in March 2015 in Australia, the wines can be labelled ‘2015’. It doesn’t matter when the wine was blended, bottled or shipped to the store – if a year is shown on the label it only relates to when the grapes were actually harvested. Some wines, especially sparkling wines from Champagne, might be labelled ‘non-vintage’ or ‘NV’ – this is because they are made up of wines from a number of different years, rather than a single year. Why? Traditionally regions like Champagne can experience quite different weather and conditions each harvest, which results in wines with different flavours and characters each year. So to produce a consistent wine each year (in a ‘house style’), the winemakers have become very skilled at blending wines from across different harvests to even out these annual differences.

At Merchants however we are a collective of small, independent and artisanal winemakers from Australia and New Zealand. As such, the wines we sell sometimes show some slight variation in style from one year (or vintage) to the next, and we think this is a unique part of their story. Great wines talk about the soil and the climate they are grown in, as well as the skill of the families making the wines. Its also worth noting that during the year we will sell out of certain wines – some of our wines are (lovingly) made in tiny quantities, so its worth putting a few of your favourites in the cellar when they are available. Both these things are what we love about artisan winemaking – its easy to become used to big brand wines being available all year round and tasting the same every vintage, but we celebrate the different story behind each vintage and are excited every year as the new wines are released.

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